Ravens' Pollard: NFL won't be around in 30 years

[ckg927]

He's quick to add, however, that he hopes he's wrong.

Think the guy has a point?

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Bernard-Pollard-Baltimore-Ravens-NFL-will-be-gone-in-30-years-012713

[Novacane]

He's right about the fans becoming fed up with it but I see a different reason than his. To many fans are being priced out of all Pro sports. Everything is going up at a higher % than most peoples earnings. If that continues they will put themselves out of business.

[YardRat]

When TV decides the investment isn't worth it, it will die.

[Pinkerton Security]

I doubt it will only be 30 years. The most popular sport in the US wont die that quickly. Baseball used to be what football is now, and it has fallen in popularity yet is going on 100+ years strong. They are obviously very different sports but I just dont see it happening that quickly.

[Meathead]

rollerball!

[Skooby]

That football game from starship troopers might overtake the NFL, or maybe NFL Blitz with those robots. Our QB would be the $2.2 Million dollar man versus the $6 Million man, for obvious economic reasons.

[CleveSteve]

Why doesn't the NFL just call spearing anymore? Then nobody could complain. that rule has been around for decades... heck Chuck Cecil was on the cover of sports illustrated because he was penalized for it so often but for some reason they stopped calling it. Now, we've got a concussion issue. Shocker.

[Night Train]

Neither will I.

[Albany,n.y.]

He's right about the fans becoming fed up with it but I see a different reason than his. To many fans are being priced out of all Pro sports. Everything is going up at a higher % than most peoples earnings. If that continues they will put themselves out of business.

Most of the people who watch football on TV never go to a game. As long as they can get the ratings, the number of fans in the stands is not very relevant to the league's survival. They could double the prices and if half the people show up they have no loss of revenue. Only the concessions & parking $ would decrease & if the TV $ makes up the difference, the owners wouldn't care.

[Extremebillsfan247]

He's quick to add, however, that he hopes he's wrong. Think the guy has a point? http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Bernard-Pollard-Baltimore-Ravens-NFL-will-be-gone-in-30-years-012713 I think to a certain extent that he could be right. It's an entirely different game today from the NFL of 20 or 30 years ago. In a way, you could say that the old NFL is already gone. Now it's all about blowing someone's knee out, or causing a head injury for the purpose of effecting the outcome of a game. That kind of manipulation is what will eventually kill this sport. JMO

[coastal]

I like that Discovery Channel show where people are no longer on the earth and it shows year by year what happens.

its kind of cool.

[kishoph]

If anything kills the NFL, it will be lawyers. The last number I seen (from just one law firm) there were 305 ex players suing the NFL because of chronic consequences of concussions suffered while playing the game, that number was almost a year ago, I can imagine there's probably another 50 or more added to that by now.

There are more than 2,000 former NFL players that filed a lawsuit in Philadelphia, accusing the league of concealing information linking football-related injuries to long-term brain damage, back in June of 2012. This is according to ABC.

[imbondz]

If anything kills the NFL, it will be lawyers. The last number I seen (from just one law firm) there were 305 ex players suing the NFL because of chronic consequences of concussions suffered while playing the game, that number was almost a year ago, I can imagine there's probably another 50 or more added to that by now.

There are more than 2,000 former NFL players that filed a lawsuit in Philadelphia, accusing the league of concealing information linking football-related injuries to long-term brain damage, back in June of 2012. This is according to ABC.

agree. It will be ex-players suing the NFL and winning that will end the NFL. Pollard is right but wrong about the reason why. He's being a little baby crying about it too.

[Night Train]

If anything kills the NFL, it will be lawyers. The last number I seen (from just one law firm) there were 305 ex players suing the NFL because of chronic consequences of concussions suffered while playing the game, that number was almost a year ago, I can imagine there's probably another 50 or more added to that by now.

There are more than 2,000 former NFL players that filed a lawsuit in Philadelphia, accusing the league of concealing information linking football-related injuries to long-term brain damage, back in June of 2012. This is according to ABC.

This

They'll always be a long line of kids wanting to play the game where football is almost religious ( Texas, Florida, Deep South, Mid-West etc. ).

But the one thing the NFL can't beat is one judge ruling against them in court for multi-millions in damages and that day will probably come. Then multiple lawsuits (knowing they will win) will follow and 32 rich franchises will have no choice than to fold tent because network $$ will vanish (not wanting to be liable in any way).

[trapezeus]

one side point to this is pollard first says that fans will get sick of the flags.

And honestly, i don't know if it was just this year's craptastic bills season out the gate, but i noticed in bills games and other games, the ref conversations, the instant replays, the double checking of almost anything that creates mometum from turnovers to td slowed the game down by a lot.

I felt like the flow is just getting worse and worse and its not just replacement ref issues. this was going on during the playoffs.

injuries aside, the game is becoming a bueracratic mess....i feel like this is just starting to get really bad and is on path to get worse.

[TigerJ]

I probably won't either. And if I am, I probably won't care about football anymore.

[imbondz]

I probably won't either. And if I am, I probably won't care about football anymore.

but that's when we're going to win the SB!

[Generalissimus Gibby]

No, the NFL isn't going anywhere, but considering how closely attached Goodell's tounge is to Kraft's testicles if Pollard injures even one more Pats player he might face a life time ban and possible jail time.

[DynaPaul]

We'll have something like the gameshow on "The Running Man" or Smash TV in the future and it'll be awesome.

[gr8slayer]

I don't think that it will ever "die", but like all great things, it will have a decline. With every new rule added, the NFL loses more and more of its luster.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

This

They'll always be a long line of kids wanting to play the game where football is almost religious ( Texas, Florida, Deep South, Mid-West etc. ).

But the one thing the NFL can't beat is one judge ruling against them in court for multi-millions in damages and that day will probably come. Then multiple lawsuits (knowing they will win) will follow and 32 rich franchises will have no choice than to fold tent because network $$ will vanish (not wanting to be liable in any way).

if this is the case, then nascar should be done, maa fighting done, boxing done, ice hockey not hitting or done...


you want to take out the head injuries, take out the helments...

[NOT THE DUDE...]

i also think we need to get rid of rules where a player hardly touches the helment like cliff matthews and gets a 15 yrd penalty. thats bs...

personally, i think if you want to play football, then you need to sign a waiver. that would solve this

[NOT THE DUDE...]

im 99% pro labor, but you have to be a ****ing idiot if you think 20 years of playing football, including many years in the nfl would not give you major brain issues...

really?